How Could I Know
by NeoVenus22
Summary: The first day Marie and Logan appeared at Xavier's school, lives were changed.
1. One

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
***  
  
I remember sitting in class, listening to Professor Xavier talk about physics, when the door behind us opened and he entered the room. Tall, unruly dark hair, a glazed expression, no shoes. He looked confused. Professor X. looked up and greeted him, dismissing class. I stood up with the others and left, glancing at the stranger. How was I supposed to know?  
  
The next day I was in Ororo Munroe's class. She was talking about the Roman Empire, but I wasn't really paying attention. Next to me was sitting this gorgeous girl. She was short, with pale skin and thick, rich chestnut hair...beautiful. I'm just a teenager, I'm supposed to be hormonal, I'm supposed to think she's hot and want to nail her. But the first thing that ran through my mind wasn't even remotely sexual, I was just struck dumb by her beauty.  
  
I kept sneaking glances at her throughout class. She looked sort of stunned, like she didn't know exactly how she got there, but at the same time she did, and she didn't know what to do, and her mind was very obviously not on the Roman empire. Kitty and Jubilee talked to her, but she just stared at them dumbly. Not stupidly, really, more like she didn't know what to say.  
  
In front of her, John Allerdyce slipped his hands behind his back, flicked a lighter, and caused a ball of flame to appear in his hands. I saw the look in her eyes, she was genuinely impressed. She looked beautiful in the glow of the flame. I hated the smugness on Allerdyce's face, and I extended my hand, gently and quietly emitting a blast of air cold enough to freeze the flame ball. It was too heavy for Allerdyce to handle, and he dropped it.  
  
Everyone turned to look for the source of the shattering sound. "John," Miss Munroe said warningly.  
  
I smirked. I couldn't help it. The beautiful girl looked at me, sort of in awe of my freezing powers. I leaned across the gap between our desks and whispered, "I'm Bobby. What's your name?"  
  
She looked about uncertainly. "Rogue."  
  
Cute. "What's your real name?"  
  
Her voice was even quieter this time. "Marie."  
  
Marie. Rogue. God, she was beautiful, she really was. I was staring at her, I knew, and maybe she thought I was kinda scary. I hoped not. I reached over, put my hand at the edge of her desk, and concentrated my energy into sculpting an ice rose. Our eyes locked for the most intense three seconds of my life. When I pulled back, I saw the glittering ice reflecting in the light, and that reflecting in her eyes. I could tell she was impressed, more impressed than she'd been with a ball of fire.  
  
"Welcome to Mutant High."  
  
I restrained myself enough to not glance at her for the duration of class, but that didn't stop me from thinking about her. Miss Munroe mentioned the possibility of a quiz tomorrow. Fantastic. I would have to get the notes from someone else, because I definitely hadn't been paying attention to anything she'd said.  
  
When we were dismissed, I started for the door, then thought better of it and doubled back. If I didn't, someone like John Allerdyce would. She was still sitting at her desk, packing up her things slowly. I leaned over. "Hey...you wanna meet me for dinner tonight?" I asked softly. Then I realized that maybe she was too shy for that, that maybe I was being too forward with the rose... "I mean, I could show you around," I amended.  
  
Marie smiled at me uncertainly. "Okay." The smile got slightly bigger, and I felt a rush of warmth in my body -- something I'm not *that* accustomed to, all things considered. "Sure."  
  
"Okay, great." Beyond great. "I'll see you around."  
  
I was grinning widely, I probably looked like an idiot, but I couldn't help myself. I couldn't wait. 


	2. Two

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
A/N: I'm going strictly by the movie here, so if my backgrounds don't match up with the comic or the show backgrounds, please forgive. With the movieverse versions, I was given a lot more freedom, so I went with that.  
Thanks for your encouraging reviews, and sorry this chapter is so late coming. :)  
  
***  
  
The school cafeteria was nothing like other school cafeterias. It was small, quaint, with round tables and cushy chairs, sort of like the coffee corner of a bookstore. I was sitting in the back, out of everyone's eyesight in case Marie didn't want a lot of people looking at her. Being the new student was pretty tough. Especially since she'd come in in the middle of the night, on the X-Jet, with that scruffy guy.  
  
Asking around between history and now, I'd managed to find out that Marie and that guy had been 'rescued' in Canada by Storm and Cyclops. They were both mutants. The guy's name was Logan or Lyman or something stupid like that. He had claws that came out of his hands. In the words of Jubilee, "What kind of mutation is *that*?" No one knew what Marie's mutation was. She had barely talked to anyone all day, excepting the teachers, and, well...*me*. I was kind of proud about that one.  
  
I checked the clock on the wall. Two to seven. We were meeting at seven. My leg started to bounce -- I was actually nervous.  
  
At my old school, I was weird. Well, before the mutant gene kicked in, I was normal, at least. A friendly, well-liked kid. And then puberty hit, and I was a freak. Not because of a changing voice or a growth spurt, but because one time I was left in the middle of the period to get a drink, and as I bent over the spigot, the water froze halfway to my mouth. I stared at it, a perfect, icy arc, and I couldn't prove that I'd done it, but I knew that I had.  
  
I knew I was different, and I was the only one who knew, not even my parents. So from that day on, I just shut off from the world. I kept to myself, in the hopes that no one would find out my secret. People started to whisper behind my back, and I was given weird looks at all times of the day. And no one even knew the horrible truth. That I was different. A freak.  
  
Then one day, I took a little too long at my locker, hoping to miss the bus and have to catch the late one -- that one was always empty. I wandered the abandoned hallways, my footsteps echoing, and as I passed the water fountain, I couldn't help but wonder the extent of this...*thing* that I had. I didn't call it a power yet. It wasn't a 'gift'. It wasn't a mutation. It was just *that thing*.  
  
Occasionally my showers would turn icy, and my soft drinks were always cold, even if they'd been in the cupboard rather than the fridge, but I'd never *tried* to freeze anything.  
  
So I stood in front of the water fountain where I'd first discovered my ability, and I stared at it long and hard. I touched the side of the fountain, and the steady stream that had been coming out froze at my touch, crystallizing. I had done that.  
  
"What the hell..?"  
  
I turned around, and saw this kid staring at me. His eyes were huge and frightened. He was looking at me like I was a freak of nature...I was a freak of nature.  
  
"It's not what you think," I said, holding up a hand in a stopping gesture. His fearful gaze now rested on my hand, as if he was terrified that I was going to turn him into ice. He took off running.  
  
The next day, word had gotten around that Bobby Drake was abnormal. The whispers started up again, but they were worse this time. Scared. Angry. I was afraid of what the other kids might do to me. But when I got home, there was a woman waiting for me inside, sitting on the couch, talking to my parents. Tall, pretty, red hair. She introduced herself as Jean Gray, and said that she'd found out about my incredible abilities, and that she ran a school for the gifted, and wanted me to attend.  
  
My parents, of course, were thrilled. They thought I was special, smart. They didn't know that I was 'special' in a different way. On the one hand, I wanted to get out, but go to a whole new school and be 'special' there?  
  
Dr. Gray asked to speak to me alone, and when my parents left, she explained that the school in question was a school for other people like me. So I wouldn't be alone and scared and feared.  
  
So I went. And at Mutant High, I was accepted. I was friendly again, I was well-liked again. I fit in. I wasn't different. Everyone else was just as bizarre as me. I liked it here.  
  
So I was nervous. Because here, I was normal, and I was a normal guy asking a beautiful girl out, and it was seven now and she wasn't here and I was freaking the hell out.  
  
Then I saw her walking through the front door, looking around uncertainly. All eyes instantly turned to her the second she walked in the room, and she looked like she wanted to bolt. I waved at her, and smiled encouragingly. She half-smiled at me, and as she walked over, everyone returned to what they'd been doing.  
  
Marie sat down. 


	3. Three

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
A/N: I'm going strictly by the movie here, so if my backgrounds don't match up with the comic or the show backgrounds, please forgive. With the movieverse versions, I was given a lot more freedom, so I went with that.  
  
Thanks for your encouraging reviews, and sorry this chapter is so late coming. :)  
  
***  
  
"Hi," I said. Not the best of opening lines, but I was tongue-tied.  
  
She smiled half-heartedly at the tabletop. "Hi."  
  
"So, um, d'ya wanna...wanna eat first, or walk around and then eat, or...what?" Neither of us were looking at each other, it was pretty damn pathetic. I felt like the king of the losers.  
  
"Um, let's eat, I guess," she said.  
  
So we ordered and we ate in silence, until we reached dessert and I just couldn't take it anymore. "So. Um. Where'd you come from?"  
  
She looked up from her cake slice and met my eyes for all of five seconds. "The South."  
  
"Oh. Um. That's...that's cool." I sighed. How lame was I being? "Are you ready to go?"  
  
Marie looked at her half-eaten cake, then looked at me. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
Better than nothing, I guess.  
  
We toured the whole of the campus, the wings that held the dorms, the various classrooms she hadn't seen yet, the courtyard, some of the important secret passages that she would need to know of with the promise that I'd show her the rest later.  
  
"Why do you have all the secret passages?" she'd asked. "It's like some medieval castle or something. You have ghosts, too?" There was a faint smile on her lips.  
  
I wanted to be just as joking, but the matter is more serious than she realized. "People hate mutants, you know that," was all I could bring myself to say.  
  
"Tell me about it." Her tone was dark, and I wonder what happened that was so awful that she just appeared here in the middle of the night. Most of us here were recruited like I was. Meetings with the parents. Secrecy in some cases, like mine, shameless forthrightness in cases like Kitty's, where an x-gene is the only way that could explain why Kitty's hand had broken half hte dishes in her house one morning because they kept passing through her fingers. Literally passing.  
  
"We need to be prepared," I said. "That's what the Professor keeps saying. Just in case."  
  
Another 'just in case' was the Danger Room, where I showed her next. Her eyes were wide, taking in all of the control panels and the sheer expanse of the room. The room wasn't activated to any particular simulation, but Mr. Summers was leading Piotr and Jubilee in a sparring session. Jubes, I'm sorry but not surprised to say, was greatly outmatched. My guess was that Mr. Summers was working on Jubilee's speed.  
  
Marie was taking in all of it, completely fascinated. "You think they could teach me to move like that?" she asked breathlessly, watching how artfully Jubes dodged Piotr's offense.  
  
"Sure."  
  
We watched for a few more minutes, then I checked my watch. "Unfortunately, there is a curfew at this place, so I better show you back."  
  
"Ooh, let me see if I can try and remember the way," she said, and she was looking much more relaxed, eager, even.  
  
"In that much of a hurry to get away from me?" I said. My tone was teasing, but I couldn't help wondering if what I was saying was the truth.  
  
She rewarded me with a grin. "Well, I imagine that you don't want lil' old me following you around for the rest of my time here."  
  
"That wouldn't be so bad, I don't think," I said, smiling back. But as she led the way, following the twists and turns of the sub-basement's hallways, something about what she said rang in my mind. 'The rest of my time here?' Sure, at first glance, it seemed fine, but at the same time, it seemed sort of...temporary. Like she didn't think she'd really stay here.  
  
I brooded over this as she turned down the wrong hallway, didn't find the elevator, and turned to me, frustrated and lost. I showed her the right hallway, and we stepped on the elevator. There was no 'strummy-strummy-la-la' (as Allerdyce would put it) elevator music in the sub-basements like there was over in the teachers' and students' wings. I found myself having to break the silence. "I think you might like it here, Marie."  
  
"Please, don't call me that," she said.  
  
"That's your name, isn't it?"  
  
She leveled me with a stare. "What do they call *you*, Bobby? The other students."  
  
I met her eyes. "Iceman."  
  
"Well, *Iceman*," she said, but not in a derogatory way, "I'm Rogue. Marie is the person that I left behind. You know...they told me...they told me there was no cure for being a mutant."  
  
I blinked at her. A cure? I had never even thought about looking for a cure. When I had first found out...I just wanted to keep it secret. I thought it was a phase, or something. Like animals change the color of their fur in the winter. I thought it would pass, and I was only concerned with keeping it to myself. I hadn't been looking for a cure.  
  
I wondered for the millionth time what kind of mutation that she had, that made her so anxious for a way out. That was something that the other students didn't know, one of the few secrets at the institute.  
  
"So I'm just trying to...accept it, I guess," she said. "And that means accepting that I'm not Marie anymore. Can you understand that?"  
  
I nodded. "Yeah, I guess I can."  
  
"So, please...call me Rogue. I'm not Marie anymore. Marie was a normal girl, and Rogue is a...is a mutant."  
  
"Fine then. I think you might like it here, Rogue."  
  
She was smiling at me now openly. "I'll be the judge of that."  
  
That looked promising. I grinned at her.  
  
We finally reached her room, and she gestured at the door. "This is my stop."  
  
"Oh. Um, you wanna get lunch tomorrow? With me, I mean."  
  
Rogue had a seriously great smile. "Yeah, that sounds good."  
  
"Okay, cool." I wanted to say something else, I wanted to do something else, but I wasn't sure what or how or if I should. Then I noticed a tiny bit of lint on her coat, and decided it was better than nothing. I reached for it. "You've got something on--" I started, but she physically drew back, eyes wide. "Um, I should go," she spluttered, trying to give me a smile, her lips twitching, but she was unsuccessful. Confused, but mostly humiliated, I nodded and stepped back. She opened the door, and I started to walk off to my own room.  
  
"Bobby?" I turned to look at her, feeling like a massive tool. "I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
Maybe I wasn't as massive of a tool as I thought. "Yeah, great." I went back to my room, and lay down, lost in thought. Rogue. I wondered what had made her step away from me, if it was because I was being too forward (although I really hadn't been), or if she was just shy, or...I didn't even know. I wasn't even going to try and figure this one out, because I just plain didn't understand girls. 


	4. Four

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
A/N: I'm going strictly by the movie here, so if my backgrounds don't match up with the comic or the show backgrounds, please forgive. With the movieverse versions, I was given a lot more freedom, so I went with that. (Read: I made some stuff up.)  
  
Thanks for all your great reviews! :)  
  
***  
  
I didn't have to wait long to find out Rogue's big secret. None of us did. That night, I was jolted from my sleep by a yell. "Somebody help!"  
  
I sat bolt upright. You got surprisingly used to random screams in the middle of the night, courtesy of Siryn and her occasional nightmares. But this scream, while loud, wasn't ear-piercing, and wasn't a wail, but actual words. And the voice belonged to a guy.  
  
I glanced over into the next bed, where Piotr was also sitting up. We raised eyebrows at each other, and heard it again, louder: "Somebody help!"  
  
In unspoken agreement, Piotr and I clamored out of our beds and went into the hall. We turned right and darted down to the corner, where we looked around and saw a small crowd of students already gathering in front of a doorway. We joined them, and fortunately, we're two of the taller students, so seeing in wasn't a problem.  
  
This had been one of the empty rooms, which was now being occupied by that Logan guy, the one with the claws. And Marie, who was rooming with Kitty, but who was standing at the guy's bedside.  
  
His claws were out. They were currently going through Rogue's back, protruding out of her bare skin, leaving gashes that were slowly dripping blood. She was standing still, clearly in shock, and Logan was looking panicked, cold, sweaty. With a *snakt!* sound, he retracted the claws, and the wounds on Rogue's back were more prominent. I couldn't see her face, I couldn't see anything but her back, but I saw one trembling hand rise up, and touch the side of Logan's face. Tenderly, like a girlfriend-boyfriend sort of touch, and I wondered why that particular thought ran through my mind.  
  
Then suddenly she dropped her hand, and as her arm fell, my view of Logan's face was unobscured. He was gray, and twitching slightly. His eyes were wide and he was clearly as confused as the rest of us, although clearly in a lot more pain.  
  
Then the scariest thing happened, and as we looked on, Rogue's wounds closed up in a matter of seconds. Of their own accord.  
  
I wasn't sure what had transpired, exactly, but the pieces were there. Rogue had touched Logan, healed herself, and hurt him in the process.  
  
Dr. Grey and Mr. Summers pushed through the gaggle of students into the room, and it only took a second of scene-assessing to figure out who was in need of help.  
  
Rogue, looking terrified, turned and bolted from the room. The students all but jumped out of her way, and she went right past me, almost brushing me but not quite. "Rogue..?" I said questioningly, but she didn't turn. I wasn't sure I'd even said it aloud.  
  
Miss Munroe cleared us out of the way, pressing us against the walls while Dr. Grey and Mr. Summers carried out Logan. Mr. Summers was holding him in his arms while Dr. Grey used her telekinesis. "Kids, get back to bed," Miss Munroe said in that soothing tone of hers. She started ushering the younger kids to their rooms, leaving the rest of us to go on our own. Like we'd really stay; there was no more action.  
  
We started back to our room, Piotr and me, when Jubilee stopped us. "You're not gonna leave Kitty like this, are you?" she asked us accusingly. I was confused for a second, until I realized that Rogue was Kitty's new roommate, and the poor girl was probably confused and terrified.  
  
Of the X-Kids, as we called ourselves, the five of us were the oldest; me, Piotr, Kitty, Jubilee, and Allerdyce. And Rogue now, she was the same age, making it an even three to three. Jubilee and Kitty were best friends, but Jubes was rooming with Rahne because she was the youngest by several months, and the Professor had some system. Me and Piotr were roommates, and up until yesterday, both Allerdyce and Kitty had singles. Kitty because she was the oldest girl, and Allerdyce because neither Piotr or I wanted to room with him.  
  
It was no secret that Allerdyce and I dind't get along. It was a cosmic joke, in a way, us being fire and ice...literally. He was the troublemaker, the wisecracker, the goof-off. I was the one who always ended up cleaning up his mess, because I was the responsible one, the trustworthy one, the mini-Scott, as he liked to call me. Cyke Two.  
  
While we didn't always get along so well, the five us were now bonding, for Kitty's sake. She was huddling in the common room, half-phased through the couch, looking scared.  
  
"Kit, relax, it's okay," I said soothingly, taking a seat next to her. Piotr sort of had a thing for her, but she'd known me longer and trusted me better. Jubes said she had a crush on me, but I chose not to believe it.  
  
"No, Bobby, it's *not* okay. All this time, we thought that Logan guy was the scary one, but it was *her* the whole time! Did you see what happened? Did you? She sucked the life out of him!"  
  
"You're overreacting," I said patiently, rubbing her shoulder. "It's late. Just get some sleep, and the teachers will have answers for us in the morning. You're perfectly safe, you know, the Professor would never let a real threat into the institute."  
  
"Dude, did you see that guy's claws?" Allerdyce piped up. "Unreal. Wicked."  
  
I glared at him as Kitty squealed softly and buried her face in her arms. "Not helping," I mouthed, and tugged on Kitty's hand. "C'mon, up, up." She un-phased and rose to her feet. "If you don't wanna go back to your room, it's okay, you can stay with us tonight."  
  
"Um, hi, like the Prof is ever gonna allow that," Jubes said. "And *I'm* her best friend, Bobby, so shouldn't she stay with *me*?" She tossed Kitty a kind smile. "Rahne won't mind."  
  
Kitty was still hanging to my arm slightly. "Can't Bobby stay, too?" she whispered, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Piotr frowning and Allerdyce rolling his eyes.  
  
"Listen, how about we stay in here?" I asked. "All of us."  
  
Kitty was nodding, but Allerdyce grunted. "Yeah, *that's* a good idea. Group us all together, out in the open. Line us up like cattle for slaughter."  
  
Any effort I made to calm Kitty down kept getting thwarted by this jerk. "Look," I said, as patiently as I could, "the big guy is in no state to be walking around at *all*, much less 'slaughtering' the students. And did you see Rogue's face? She clearly didn't know she could do that. She was just as scared of it as we were. So my best guess is that she's not going to be going near any other person for some time, human or mutant."  
  
And I realized that was why she wouldn't let me brush away her hair that afternoon. She didn't know what might happen.  
  
So the five of us set up camp in the common room to wait out the night. 


	5. Five

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
A/N: I'm going strictly by the movie here, so if my backgrounds don't match up with the comic or the show backgrounds, please forgive. With the movieverse versions, I was given a lot more freedom, so I went with that. (Read: I made some stuff up.)  
  
Thanks for all your great reviews! :)  
  
***  
  
Kitty and Jubilee had fallen asleep on the couch, leaning against each other. Piotr was sprawled out on the floor in the corner, and John was sitting at the table with his head down. I, on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all. I couldn't stop thinking about Rogue, wondering where she was and how she was doing. I had no idea what had happened in that room, so I was scared for her.  
  
I was starting to feel a little hungry, so I padded down the hallway to the kitchen. The halls were abandoned and the rooms were quiet. I imagine the teachers were fussing over Logan down in the Med Bay, and Professor Xavier and Dr. Grey were probably keeping a psychic ear on the goings-on of the students.  
  
I wanted ice cream. That seemed a bit cliched, given my powers, and seeing as how my body temperature was lower than your average human's, it just doesn't really make sense that I would crave ice cream, but I did. Fortunately, there's always a pint on hand of my favorite in the freezer, off-limits to everyone else. I grabbed it and settled myself at the counter, spooning straight from it without bothering with a bowl.  
  
I couldn't stop thinking about Rogue, hadn't been able to for the entire day now. Her hair, slightly wavy and auburn; her eyes, sparkly and green; her teasing grin; her more demure smile; her soft tones; her slight accent... *Why* couldn't I get her out of my mind?  
  
I jabbed the spoon into the ice cream, where it stuck in place, and stared out the window at the darkened courtyard. I was too far gone to notice when someone stepped up beside me, and I only realized I wasn't alone when I turned for another spoonful of ice cream and saw the spoon was gone. I looked up to see it protruding from John Allerdyce's mouth.  
  
"Couldn't find your own spoon?" I said irritably.  
  
"What's *your* damage?" he shot back.  
  
"You," I said. "I'm doing my damnedest out there to calm Kitty down, and you're the one talking about mutant psychopaths roaming the halls."  
  
"I'm just being realistic. One of them has claws coming from his hands that can *pierce through a human body*, and the other puts you in a coma from touching you. Kitty *should* be scared."  
  
"The teachers aren't about to let anything happen to us," I said. "They're probably listening to us right now."  
  
He shrugged and continued eating my ice cream. But I was too struck with sudden concern to care about my dwindling supply. Of course. What I'd said to Allerdyce was absolutely right. The Xavier Institue for the Gifted housed two of the best psychics in the world. Of *course* they were listening. I sent out a thought, Dr. Grey?  
  
Yes, Bobby?  
  
Are we safe in the mansion? Kitty's really worried.  
  
It's perfectly alright. I know you kids are concerned, but trust me when I say that neither Logan nor Rogue has any intention of hurting any one of you.  
  
And what about Rogue? I asked. Is she okay?  
  
She's fine, just a little scared. You've probably already guessed that her x-gene is somehow connected to her skin. The Professor will explain it more tomorrow, but I'll tell you now that she absorbs energy from others when she touches them. If she's touching a mutant, she also absorbs their power for a short period of time. Which is what happened with Logan. He has an advanced healing rate, which she borrowed for herself when he accidentally struck her. But they're both okay now, more or less, and there's no threat to the student body whatsoever. So I suggest you stop worrying and get some sleep, okay? John, too.  
  
I glanced sideways at John, who was polishing off the remainder of my ice cream. I groaned inwardly. "Dr. Grey said we should get some sleep," I said, and pulled the container out of his hand. "And you owe me a new carton." I tossed it in the trash and headed back for the common room, because if Kitty woke up and I wasn't there, she would most likely freak.  
  
"You've got the hots for her, don't you?"  
  
I hadn't even known Allerdyce was following me back. "Who, Kitty?" I asked, because that's who I'd been thinking about.  
  
"No, you idiot. The new girl."  
  
"Rogue."  
  
"Yeah, her."  
  
"Do I have the hots for her?" I repeated. "Who even talks like that?"  
  
"I do, Drake. What's it to you?" There was venom in his voice.  
  
"Geez, way to jump down my throat. What do you care if I like Rogue or not, anyway? You interested in her?"  
  
"I'm just asking."  
  
"I don't answer pointless questions," I said. It wasn't his business if I liked Rogue or not. Unless he was after her... "I do," I told him. "So if you're smart, keep your distance."  
  
"Ooh, the Iceman's awfully protective. Kitty wouldn't like you talking like that, because in case you're blind or something, the idiot girl's all in love with you."  
  
"A, she's not an idiot. B, she's not in love with me. C, I'm not interested in her, okay? We're just friends."  
  
Allerdyce cocked one eyebrow at me. "I'm just saying, dude. You hurt Kitty, and I'm gonna set your pitiful little ass on fire before you can do a damn thing about it. Capiche?"  
  
I couldn't conceal my surprise or skepticism. "I didn't realize you and Kitty were such good friends."  
  
"Even jerks like me have friends, Drake."  
  
"I find that hard to believe," I scoffed.  
  
"Well, whether you want to believe it or not, Kitty Pryde and I *are* friends, and I don't want to see her getting hurt by some dumbass like you."  
  
"I won't hurt her," I said. "She's my friend too."  
  
"I'm gonna hold you to that, Frosty," he said. "But I also gotta warn you...turn your back for two seconds, and I'm all over the Rogue."  
  
"Ten minutes ago, you were terrified of her."  
  
"No denying that she's hot, though. If she kills you...man, what a way to go, right?" He grinned, and I couldn't help smiling back. Maybe I was all wrong about John Allerdyce. He was lecherous, and obnoxious, yeah, but somewhere under that, he apparently had a heart. And if Kitty liked him, which I happened to know that she did, then that would be good enough for me.  
  
"But hey," he threw in, holding up his hands slightly. "You get first dibs, okay? It *should* be first come, first served, and I *did* see her first, but you were the one with the balls to ask her out, so I'll step aside. Don't forget what I said, though."  
  
"Well how do you expect me to keep from hurting Kitty while not turning my back on Rogue?" I asked.  
  
"Bit of a challenge, isn't it?"  
  
We stopped in front of the door to the common room. "So what's the deal? If she hasn't left already, and is planning to stay, you gonna go for it?"  
  
I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah. No. I dunno. I wish I knew more about her power, you know? But she's really cool, and was fun to talk to, and yeah, she's totally hot. So...I don't know."  
  
"What are you two doing out in the hall?" Jubes said, poking her head out the doorway. "Good thing Kitty's still asleep, 'cause if she'd been the one to wake up and you weren't here, she would have had a cow. Get in here." With that, she grabbed my arm in one hand and Allerdyce's in the other, and yanked us in the room. 


	6. Six

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
A/N: I'm going strictly by the movie here, so if my backgrounds don't match up with the comic or the show backgrounds, please forgive. With the movieverse versions, I was given a lot more freedom, so I went with that.  
  
***  
  
Talking out my issues in the middle of the night, even to someone like Allerdyce, had actually helped a lot, and I slept through the rest of the night easily with Dr. Grey's psychic assurances of our safety and Rogue's health. The Professor went from class to class that morning, informing us in turn what I'd already learned about Rogue's powers, how she couldn't be touched, how she would absorb your power, etc.  
  
Admittedly, hearing the Professor's grave, serious tone reinstated some basic fear in me of Rogue and her powers, but unlike the other students, I pushed it aside. She was so quiet, so shy, this sweet Southern belle, and that image of her in my mind didn't compare with the one that Xavier was trying to set up for us, that she was dangerous.  
  
She wasn't in any of my classes that morning, but I'd asked Dr. Grey and she'd said that Rogue was in the Med Bay, getting checked over.  
  
"She asked if she would be out in time for lunch," Dr. Grey said with a kind smile, which led me to believe that she'd probed Rogue's mind enough to know about our lunch date. Which I was now looking forward to. Screw Allerdyce and everyone else. I'd gotten to know Rogue briefly yesterday, and I wasn't afraid of her.  
  
But when lunch rolled around, after searching the institute, I hadn't been able to find her anywhere. I came across Piotr in the hallway. "Have you seen Rogue?" I asked. "She was supposed to meet me for lunch."  
  
He shook his head. That was when I overheard it: "Rogue's gone missing."  
  
The news distressed Dr. Grey some, clearly during her probe she'd believed Rogue to be completely stable, at ease, and now that wasn't the case. I wanted to follow the teachers to wherever they were going, find out what was going on, but it wasn't my place to. Instead I went with Piotr to the cafeteria, where he joined Kitty, Jubilee, and Allerdyce at a table.  
  
"You hear?" Jubes said in a hushed tone. "The psycho went missing."  
  
"Livin' up to her name, at least," Allerdyce commented, and the girls just stared at him. "A *Rogue*?" he said, and when they continued to look bemused, he sighed and shook his head. "Completely wasted on you two."  
  
"Stuff it, John," Jubes threw back at him.  
  
I leaned forward. "She's not a psycho, guys. You heard what the Professor said."  
  
"Read between the lines, Bobby," Jubes said impatiently. "What the Prof said was that she absorbed your powers and left you comatose. As in, she's freaking dangerous."  
  
"How is she *dangerous*?" I said, my voice raised in annoyance. "Because she used her powers in a life-or-death situation? Like you wouldn't do the same."  
  
"So, what? You're all buddy-buddy with her, now?"  
  
"That's not what this is about."  
  
"Can we just drop this?" Kitty spoke up suddenly, and we all turned to look at her. I wasn't sure exactly why she was upset by our line of conversation, maybe she was still stressing about her onetime roommate's most-wanted-list activities, or because of my possible crush on Rogue. Either or, Jubilee and I were both close enough to Kitty to let it drop.  
  
Piotr crossed his big forearms on the table and leaned forward. "That new Kate Hudson movie is coming out this weekend," he said quietly, "would you like to go, Kitty?"  
  
The four of us all stared at him, agape. I was probably the only one who knew about his sort-of crush on Kitty, but even I was taken completely aback by this. He had just asked Kitty out, in front of all of his friends, completely casually. He didn't look disturbed in the slightest.  
  
Kitty glanced furtively at me, but Piotr only sipped at his soda, like her answer was inconsequential. "Um...yeah, sure!" Kitty said cheerfully. "That'd be cool."  
  
"Cool," Piotr echoed, then turned to Jubes and said, "You were doing really well in your training session yesterday."  
  
How did the guy *do* it? I'd practically had a panic attack having lunch with Rogue, and here he was, asking Kitty out, and then talking about the Danger Room.  
  
"Thanks," Jubes said brightly. She smiled at the rest of us. "Cyclops had me working on speed training. Petey here nearly kicked my ass."  
  
"Don't call me that," he said, biting his sandwich, still nonchalant.  
  
"I will call you damn well whatever I want, *Petey*," she said, and stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Oh, that's mature," I said, but was surprised to hear my voice in chorus. I looked over, and discovered that Allerdyce was saying it with me. We raised our eyebrows at each other, and Jubes, Kitty, and Piotr all started laughing. I couldn't help it; I joined in. So did John.  
  
The rest of lunch passed like it normally would, except without as much sniping between John and myself. I was actually starting to almost *like* the kid. But nothing could erase my worry over Rogue, something that hovered over me like a black cloud, something that the others probably noticed.  
  
We got up as a group. Kitty, Jubes, and Piotr all had European History this afternoon, and John and I were being paired up in the Danger Room. We started towards the sub-basement elevator, but Mr. Summers cut us off. "No practice today," he said hastily.  
  
"What's wrong?" I said.  
  
He frowned, like he didn't want to tell us. He turned to look in both directions, and apparently satisfied that it was just the three of us in the hallway, sighed and said, "Rogue disappeared an hour ago, and Logan's already gone out looking for her. Storm and I are going in to save his stupid ass."  
  
I tried to hold in my surprise; I'd never heard Mr. Summers swear before. I mean, I knew he must've on many occasions, but he never did it in the presence of students.  
  
"Jean and the Professor are both going to be in the mansion, but all classes are cancelled for the afternoon. Could you two help keep an eye on things?" he said, looking at me and not John. "Kitty and Piotr, too, please. You're our oldest students and I'm trusting you to hold some sort of responsibility."  
  
"Um, sure," I said, casting a sideways glance at John, who was looking bored as usual. "Sure, yeah," I said. "Um, be careful out there, I guess," I said, as he stepped into the elevator. What were you supposed to say in a situation like this?  
  
"Thanks." And with the push of a button, he was gone.  
  
John and I turned to each other. "So what now?" I said.  
  
"Seems to me like there's something going on between Logan and Rogue," he said, raising one eyebrow at me and smirking.  
  
"That wasn't what I meant."  
  
"Well, I *guess* our esteemed High and Mighty would recommended that we go find out partners in crime. Then I suppose we institute some sort of communist regimen."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Some days, I *really* don't like you, Allerdyce," I said, starting back to find the others and spread the word.  
  
John appeared at my side. "I thought that was all days."  
  
"For a brief moment in there, I'd changed my mind."  
  
"Drake, I am *touched*," he said mockingly, touching his chest and blinking rapidly, like he was blinking back tears. "That was so moving."  
  
I sighed. "And he left *us* in charge? We must really be screwed." 


	7. Seven

Disclaimer: I don't own, don't sue.  
  
A/N: I'm going strictly by the movie here, so if my backgrounds don't match up with the comic or the show backgrounds, please forgive. With the movieverse versions, I was given a lot more freedom, so I went with that.  
  
***  
  
When I said we were screwed, was I ever right. Not too long after Scott had left the four of us in charge (and naturally, Jubilee appointed herself as part of our justice team, too), the Professor and Dr. Grey took off in the handicap-accessible Rolls Royce. For what, they didn't say.  
  
The kids were better behaved than I would have expected. It was the ones who were supposed to be in charge that were acting like idiots. Jubes and John got into a fight with the sink hoses, and ended up drenching half the kitchen. Piotr was hold an arm wrestling contest in the common room, taking on anyone who challenged him (which was everyone). Even no powers, he was kicking total butt.  
  
Kitty and I were the only ones with any sense of responsibility, but Kitty was mostly still in a funk from that morning's events. She was worried that Cyclops and Storm were going to find Logan and Rogue and bring them back. I wasn't sure exactly sure how to comfort her, seeing as how I knew that the X-Men would come to the rescue, like always. And I was *hoping* that they would bring Rogue back.  
  
But when the team returned, they only had Logan in tow. Dr. Grey and the Professor came by not much later, and immediately they went to Cerebro. Only, the Professor came back out in a coma. Someone had gotten into the mansion and altered the configuration of Cerebro so that it used the Professor's powers against him.  
  
They wouldn't tell us what was going on. I only found out about the Professor through some not-very-responsible lounging around the planning room. Dr. Grey was so distraught, she didn't put up any kind of psychic scan to check and see if anyone was listening. Even so, I had to hightail it out of there before I could find out what had happened to Rogue, why the team had only managed to bring back Logan.  
  
From what I'd gathered, they were going out again. I didn't need to listen in to determine that the X-Men wouldn't leave Rogue behind.  
  
We never got the instruction from Cyclops that we were being left in charge; we could only assume that that was still the case.  
  
I had taken to my room. I figured Kitty and the others could uphold the peace. I was worrying about Rogue for only the millionth time that day. I was the reigning queen of lame, lame, lame. Before long, though, Kitty had phased her head through the wall. "Hey, Bobby."  
  
"You could knock, or something," I said.  
  
"Sorry. Can I come in?"  
  
I put down magazine that I'd been not reading, but staring at, and sat up. "Yeah, sure."  
  
She phased the rest of the way through the door, walked around my and Piotr's stuff, and took up post at the window. "The jet's going up," she said, and I stood behind her to watch. The Blackbird, a.k.a. the X-Jet, rose from the parted basketball court and was a silhouette against the night sky before the shields came on fully, and it was merely a hint of a line, something that you would pass off completely.  
  
As the jet disappeared into the sky, from cloaking and from distance alike, Kitty took advantage of our close proximity and leaned backwards against me. Without thinking, I put my arms around her waist. Kitty was my friend, the person I'd known the longest in my duration at the mansion (excluding the teachers). I knew she was scared, probably still hurting, and while I was feeling my own kind of pain, I had to be the bigger man, be there for her when she needed me.  
  
We stood in silence for awhile, watching the night. Finally Kitty said, "Bobby, do you like me?"  
  
Talk about your loaded questions. "Of course I do, Kit," I said automatically.  
  
"No...I mean...do you *like* me."  
  
I had known that was what she had meant, and was hoping that feigning ignorance would be a suitable cop-out, but I was wrong. Not that I felt bad about being wrong, because it was unfair to do that to Kitty. "Kit, I--"  
  
"I mean...well, it's *complicated*, you know? Jubes or John have probably told you by now that I like you. Like that."  
  
"Yeah, they both have," I admitted softly.  
  
"And today at lunch...and Piotr just asked me out like that, and..." She sighed, and untangled herself from me so she could look me in the eye. "Bobby, if you don't, you know...that's okay. If you like, you know...*her*."  
  
"Who, Rogue?" Apparently I was the guy with my heart on my sleeve.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say.  
  
Kitty ran a hand through her hair, staring at her shoes. This was just as awkward for her as it was for me, I realized painfully. "If you like Rogue, that's fine," she said. "Really. I mean, you and me, we're friends first, you know? And Piotr's a good guy, he's really sweet. So it's cool."  
  
"I don't want to hurt you, Kit," I told her honestly, feeling unbelievably guilty. "But I just never thought of you as anything more than a friend. I'm sorry."  
  
"No, really, it's okay," she said with a smile that was more brave than anything else.  
  
The door opened then, and Piotr hulked into the room. He looked from me to Kitty and back again. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked.  
  
"No," Kitty said quickly. "Bobby and I were just talking."  
  
"Okay. I'm tired, I want a nap. Bobby, could you take over for me?"  
  
"You mean, arm-wrestle small children?" I said.  
  
Piotr's lips curled in a small smile. "If you want."  
  
"Yeah, okay."   
  
Kitty and I left the room, and strolled down the hall at a leisurely pace. "So...do you?" Kitty asked.  
  
"Do I what?"  
  
"Like her. Rogue."  
  
"I've only known her a day, Kit."  
  
"You just seem...I don't know, different. Yesterday you were really cheerful, but really jumpy, and now you're all quiet. Ever since she left."  
  
I didn't say anything; didn't know quite what to say.  
  
"These things happen, you know, you can like someone a *lot*, just when you meet them."  
  
"Mhmm," I mumbled.  
  
"I mean, that's how I felt about you," she added quietly, and I felt a bit clammy at that. Was this how it was going to be from now on? She had finally admitted that she had a crush on me, so that's what we would talk about? "So, I understand. And it's okay, she's kind of cool. I mean, I know, I said all that mean stuff about her, and I'm really sorry about that, I really am. I was just...I *am*...scared. You know? But I walk through walls, so I guess I can't really talk, who knows, maybe *she* finds *us* scary. But listen, it's all okay, I guess, you were absolutely right, the teachers will take care of everything. I mean, it's what they *do*, right? So she'll be okay, and we'll be okay."  
  
"Will *we* be okay?" I asked. "You and me."  
  
She smiled, and this one seemed fully sincere. "Yeah, I think we will."  
  
"Cool," I said.  
  
"You think everything's cool, Iceman," she cracked, and we both laughed.  
  
And for a moment, everything was back to normal. 


End file.
